1. The Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to communications and computer systems.
2. Background of the Invention
People communicate in many ways over many types of devices and channels, including by voice, by audio/video, and by text or the like. Voice communications include audio over landline telephones such as connected to POTS (plain old telephone service) lines or PBX (private branch exchange) lines, and cellular and satellite telephones, as well as voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). Audiovisual communications include video tele-conference (VTC), which also may be Internet Protocol-based communication. Text communications include electronic mail, instant messaging, pagers with text messaging, and so forth.
Some contemporary devices provide multiple ways to communicate, e.g., pocket sized personal computers may have a cellular telephone connection to place audio calls, and a wireless internet connection for sending and receiving electronic mail messages and instant messaging communications. Some mobile devices (e.g., a Smartphone) are considered to be more like telephones, but likewise provide Internet access, and may handle text messaging generally.
While all of these technologies are fairly easy to use, from the user's perspective there is still a substantial emphasis on the communication channels and protocols, and the devices themselves, rather than on what is really important to the user, which is communicating with someone else over an available device. For example, a user who needs to talk to someone else may need to consider many factors before selecting a device and attempting to call the other person, such as whether to use a landline phone or a mobile telephone, e.g., because the call may take a long time, part of which could be spent while traveling. Other factors that a user may consider include the other device that the caller should be calling (whether to call the recipient's landline telephone or mobile telephone), the cost of the call, whether the call should be a video call, and so forth. Each of the devices in turn has its own idiosyncrasies, such as a custom user interface, a different set of stored numbers from those stored in other devices, and so forth.
What is needed is an automated architecture (system) and related methods for hiding much of the device and connection considerations from users, and replacing those considerations with a model that focuses on the user's real time communication with one or more other users. The method and system should be flexible and extensible to handle many user scenarios and usage patterns, yet straightforward for users to implement.